Goud Maragani’s commentary on the election process is full of misinformation and impracticalities. Even a lowly college dropout like me can see his notions are easily dismissed as rhetorical nonsense.
Poll workers already work in pairs to recover ballots from drop boxes and are never allowed to be alone with ballots. Tried and tested technologies and procedures document and protect our elections.
Hand counts are performed only when necessary as they are expensive and usually unnecessary, and the notion of scheduling for the benefit of poll watchers is laughable. There are no forecasts for the arrival of ballots, you are welcome to observe whenever staff is engaged in operating polling locations all the way through the process to storage. Poll watchers do not dictate schedules.
His idea of “bipartisan” pairs handling ballots is utter nonsense. Please, sir, with your extensive legal experience, explain how you intend to determine the political affiliation and leanings of your employees and poll workers without violating their civil rights. Is it your intention to sink the county clerk office with lawsuits?
The political views of employees, public or private, is none of your business. These proposals are willfully ignorant, severely paranoid, and must be decried. Such a brand of partisanship has been a consistent hallmark of authoritarian regimes throughout history.
I would further characterize his citing of Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, and Stacey Abrams’ comments on the election process as grossly and intentionally misleading. Clinton complained of the timing of the FBI investigation, Abrams of voter suppression; neither questioned the election process.
While I agree that our political institutions must be fiercely questioned, your article is baseless and panders to vulnerable Republicans who have been deceived.
Samuel McKean Cottrell, Taylorsville
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